ESL Students in the Mainstream Classroom

We live in a world full of different cultures and languages that meet and interact every day. Classrooms today consist of a variety of students with different needs, learning styles, interests, cultural and educational backgrounds and levels of knowledge. Mainstream teachers are expected to create and provide lessons that meet the needs of all of their students. ESL students can bring additional challenges to an already assorted group of learners. Part of the role of an ESL teacher is to be available to the mainstream teachers to offer additional support and strategies that can be implemented to best help the ESL students. This led to my question, “What strategies do mainstream teachers need to in order to meet the needs of their ESL students?” This book discusses the research that I conducted in order to determine an answer to my question. I discovered what mainstream teachers already knew, and more importantly, what they felt they needed more information about in educating ESL students. Their feedback allowed me to determine what mainstream teachers wanted to know more about so I could provide strategies that they need in order to meet the needs of their ESL students.